New Animated Series May Take Trek Past 'Nemesis'

CBS is considering producing a new animated Star Trek series for the web, according to longtime Star Trek staffer David Rossi, who pitched the proposal along with partners Doug Mirabello and José Muñoz.

TrekMovie.com spoke to Rossi about his proposal, which came together not long after the cancellation of Star Trek: Enterprise. "We wanted to spark a little life into Star Trek and to keep it alive in people’s eyes," Rossi said. They believed an animated proposal would be easier to sell than a more expensive live-action show, ultimately choosing a setting 150 years after Star Trek Nemesis in a rather dark and scary version of the Star Trek universe.

Based on preliminary art, CBS has asked the team to develop scripts for 5 brief episodes of about six minutes each. In the scenario, the Federation is recovering from a devastating war with the Romulans which leaves vast areas of the Federation inaccessible to warp travel. "Couching big social issues in allegories so they are more palatable is kind of passé now," Rossi stated, explaining that they decided to make the entire show "an allegory for the post-9/11 world we live in. A world of uncertainty and fear."

The team hopes to have an area of StarTrek.com to fill in the history since Picard and Janeway's era, as well as specs on the new Enterprise, which will be a bit out of date. Though Rossi said that the ship would be recognizable as a Star Trek vessel, he said that it would not have a familiar design. Captain Chase will fight to return to the glory days of exploration while others on his crew simply want to carry out a border patrol mission.

The project would most likely be downloaded from StarTrek.com, though Rossi said it would be possible to show episodes on television. Graphics and more details are available at TrekMovie.com.